Simon Thompson

Simon Thompson is a reporter/producer for KRWG-TV's Newsmakers. You can also hear his reports on KRWG-FM.

Thompson is originally from Australia, where he graduated from Monash University with a B.A in Journalism and Politics.

After graduating, Thompson wrote features and worked as subeditor for a social culture magazine in his hometown of Melbourne.

Thompson came to the United States to travel and embark on a freelance career, sending articles to a string of publications in Australia. After realizing the gravity and extent of crucial issues begging to be covered, Thompson worked to extend his time in the U.S.

Thompson got his start in public media in Indiana at PBS/NPR stations WTIU/WFIU, shooting and producing in depth feature stories for TV and radio.

Thompson chose to come to the southwest during the polar vortex of 2013 – 2014 to report on life in the border region, master Spanish, and get as far away from any future polar vortex as possible.

As an Expat living in the U.S., Thompson has a natural inclination towards immigration issues and has focused his reporting on drug policy, education, and socioeconomic challenges in the region.

Follow Simon on Twitter @SimoThom for story updates and news, or send him story ideas at simothom@nmsu.edu

10:35 am

Mon March 2, 2015

Many Las Cruces students staged a walkout Monday protesting the increasing number and intensity of high stakes tests. They say an overemphasis on testing is ruining their education.

Students at Mayfield High School in Las Cruces walked out to protest a new standardized test being administered throughout New Mexico: the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, known as the PARCC test.

According to MIT, mid-size companies, that’s businesses with 10 to 99 employees, generate 35% of jobs nationally. And these companies are better at creating middle class jobs in high-skilled areas. New Mexico economic initiatives are not focused on supporting the growth of these companies.

Creating jobs and generating development in New Mexico has largely been approached by giving business incentives and tax exemptions. But some economists say those tools don’t offer a guaranteed return on investment. Some lawmakers are proposing an end to wasteful programs with a way to evaluate incentives.

MVEDA; The Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance has what is called an economic base approach to generating jobs and economic growth. Davin Lopez is the CEO of the Alliance.

Regional

7:42 am

Fri February 13, 2015

Dona Ana County Deputy Clerk Scott Krahling says compulsory or mandatory voting could address a lot of issues facing the US political system. But that Americans voters would take to it or that it could be implemented.

In the November midterms, voter turnout in New Mexico and Texas was just below the national average of less than 37 percent, the lowest it’s been in the U.S in 72 years.

It’s led many analysts to question the U.S. political system’s capacity to represent its people. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance ranks the U.S. 120th for voter turnout internationally.

The countries at the top of the list like Belgium, Singapore and Australia, which is number 1, all have compulsory voting policies.

Las Cruces is finalizing its arroyo management plan and the city council could vote on it in the coming months. Despite almost a decade of delay some property developers say more research and discussion is needed.

It doesn’t rain often in Las Cruces but when it does it can really pour

Lupe Archuleta has lived in Las Cruces for 35 years, she says she had no idea how the nearby arroyo could damage her East Mesa home until a major downpour years after she moved in.

Southern New Mexico and West Texas surface water levels are just slightly above hundred-year lows. Meantime legislation that funds regional water conservation research and development is about to expire.

Elephant Butte, the area’s major reservoir is at low levels in the fall, it was less than ten percent full.

Every day 22 U.S. veterans commit suicide. The recent murder-suicide that took two lives at Fort Bliss is raising questions about the VA’s ability to manage ongoing mental health issues facing returning soldiers Simon Thompson reports.

As many as 150 demonstrations, in 50 states protested House approval of the Keystone XL pipeline last week. For many, even in states like New Mexico far from the pipeline route the debate represents a broader question over the future of energy generation in the US.

Regional

6:00 am

Wed September 24, 2014

Krazy Kathy Korte, that is what some are calling the Albuquerque mother and outspoken critic of education policies developed by the Martinez administration.

Korte’s advocacy group Stand4kids New Mexico has put education at the center of the November election. But a Republican lawmaker has filed a complaint against the group’s conduct with the Secretary of State.

Kathy Korte was elected to the Albuquerque Public School board, right after Susana Martinez became governor and began her campaign to overhaul public education.

Regional

7:00 am

Thu September 18, 2014

The Las Cruces City council voted 4-to-3 to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017. But the new wage law won’t necessarily be enacted. Some say the council majority is subverting the democratic process to keep the minimum wage from increasing that quickly.

New Mexico public school teachers recently received their evaluations and schools received A through F grades. Many are not satisfied with the results and are not clear about how the assessments are calculated some educators say the system does not provide the information needed to make improvements.

New Mexico State Representative (D-33) Bill McCamley compares the states and federal government’s policy on recreational marijuana to alcohol prohibition in the 1920’s. He says people are going to buy and use marijuana whether it is legal or not- but in Washington state and Colorado a lot of that money is going to the state government.

Robert Pack was working as the manager of ticketing and audience services for Monterrey Symphony Orchestra in Carmel, California, when he was diagnosed with adult onset epilepsy.

“I had my first seizure at work” he says.

To get it under control doctors prescribed him a string of different pharmaceuticals, the only one that worked gave him debilitating nausea, anxiety and difficulty sleeping, so his doctor recommended using cannabis medicinally.

Wed August 6, 2014

This week the city council voted to accept the petition signatures for a proposal to increase the wage to $10.10 an hour by 2017. Recent economic studies indicate a higher minimum wage could be a positive step for the city.

When the federal government introduced the minimum wage, it was not indexed for inflation – so every time the cost of living has increased, the minimum wage has lost value, buying less and less.

Election 2014

6:00 am

Tue August 5, 2014

Less than two weeks ago, the city clerk determined that Comunidades en Accion y de Fe or Café had submitted enough valid petition signatures to put an ordinance to raise the minimum wage in Las Cruces from 7.50 to 10.10 /hour by 2017 before the city council. The council had previously approved a measure to increase the minimum wage to 8.50 by 2016.

On Monday, the city council voted unanimously to approve the city clerks certification and that the submitted petitions were sufficient to allow the ordinance to be voted on by the council.

Michael Mc Whirter and his family bought their house near Picacho Mountain when it was one of the only properties there.

The realtor sold them on horizon to horizon views and the surrounding desert wilderness. But what wasn’t mentioned in the sales pitch was the arroyo that runs from the back to the front of the property.

“When we bought the property it was not disclosed to us that there was an issue with run off, when we bought the property it came as a surprise to us to realize that we had water swirling on the porch" he says.

Mandy Denson co-owns Compassionate Distributors dispensary in Ruidoso. She says when medicinal marijuana was approved in New Mexico and dispensaries started setting up shop they were mainly in the northern part of the state.

“Our portion of the state in southeastern New Mexico is very poor I grew up in Roswell so I am familiar with the general demographics ". She says.

Tortugas Mountain is a site of cultural significance for the Our Lady of Guadalupe Tortugas Pueblo congregation, who climb the mountain in an annual pilgrimage to honor the Virgin Mary. But it’s also an important place for local residents like Duane Mosley who go to the mountain to unwind, hike, and watch the sunset and the stars at night.

“It has always been a special place for me” he says “Eating the mesquite beans and watching lizards crawl around on the rocks it is something that brings me back to my center” he says.

On Wednesday night the Extra-Territorial Zoning Authority or ETA denied the appeal of the decision that rejected commercial zoning near Tortugas mountain. After the 8 hour long public meeting, the 5 ETA members present voted unanimously against changing the decision. A successful appeal would have allowed the property’s owners to build a strip mall on the site.

Dona Ana County Development Staff was the applicant making the appeal. The ETA says staff failed to prove a commercial zoning would be consistent with the comprehensive plan for the area.

Green Crack, Super Silver Diesel Haze and Snowberry- Just three of the names given to cannabis being legally used in New Mexico to treat anything from cancer to chronic pain to post traumatic stress disorder.

The New Mexico Department of Health is proposing changes to the state's medicinal marijuana program. Dispensaries are concerned that it will make the medicine even more expensive when some patients already faced shortages and difficulty paying for their medicine.

Mandy Denson is the co-owner of Compassionate Distributors dispensary in Ruidoso.

Fri July 4, 2014

Feral pigs cost the U.S. $1.5 billion dollars every year. But wild pigs aren’t just endangering wildlife and native plants. The animals are threatening the livelihood of a longtime ranching community in Otero County.

When someone is apprehended crossing the border illegally they are handed over to Immigration and Customs enforcement or ICE.

But they don’t have enough of facilities needed to house the minors and families coming across the border. So once they have been processed they are released on their own reconnaissance, while they wait for their immigration hearings.

32 of New Mexico’s fastest growing tech companies saw collective growth of 14% since the recession. That is according to the ‘The Flying 40’, a list that reports on New Mexico’s tech industry progress annually. But when it comes to tech companies in the southern part of the state few are even mentioned.

While the federal government has been cutting military budgets over the last 2 years- the Holloman remotely piloted Aircraft training program has been growing.

Students in the remotely piloted aircraft facility at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo are training with two different unmanned aircrafts or drones The MQ1 "Predator" and the more powerful MQ-9 "Reaper". But not before racking hours and hours of training on simulators doing virtual missions.